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Detroit Regional Chamber > Advocacy > Michigan Businesses ‘Numb’ to Tariff Changes Ahead of Trump Deadline

Michigan Businesses ‘Numb’ to Tariff Changes Ahead of Trump Deadline

July 8, 2025

According to experts and trade groups, businesses across Michigan are already hurting from existing and threatened tariffs due to a disruption in long-term planning. In interviews with The Detroit News, Detroit Regional Chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Sandy K. Baruah and Chief Automotive and Innovation Officer Glenn Stevens Jr. shared their insights on the uncertain climate surrounding tariffs, including which industries are vulnerable, like the automotive industry.

 Learn more in the article below.

Sandy Baruah headshot

“The uncertainty is already there. And in fact, the uncertainty keeps getting worse. In capital-intensive industries — like automotive, like manufacturing — long-term planning isn’t a luxury. It’s a must. And you can’t plan long term if you don’t know how your supply chain is going to be impacted, or what the cost of your supply chain is going to be, or what your access to your supply chain is going to be.”

– Sandy K. Baruah, President and Chief Executive Officer, Detroit Regional Chamber

Glenn Stevens Jr.

“My general feeling from talking to companies and walking their floors is they’re not hurting, but they’re not thriving. They’re not running at the capacity utilization rates they want to be running at because of these factors.”

– Glenn Stevens Jr., Chief Automotive and Innovation Officer, Detroit Regional Chamber

The Detroit News
July 6, 2025
Grant Schwab

This week could bring more twists in a rollercoaster year for Michigan’s trade and manufacturing-reliant economy as President Donald Trump prepares to once again issue steep global tariffs on most products as part of a multifront trade war.

“There’s been so many changes, it’s almost numbing,” said John Walsh, CEO of the Michigan Manufacturing Association. “And maybe the real effect might be that some businesses are just going to start making decisions.”

Barring last-minute trade deals, changes or delays — which are commonplace in the Trump administration — the White House’s 90-day pause on sweeping tariffs will expire Wednesday and bring a wave of new import taxes.

Businesses across the state are already hurting from the existing and threatened tariffs, experts and trade groups said, because policy uncertainty has disrupted long-term planning. Michigan’s signature auto industry is already subject to sector-specific tariffs from Trump, and additional levies could deepen the widespread sense of uncertainty across other key industries like medicine, robotics and less flashy areas of manufacturing.

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